Electrical switch



Dec. 2, 1952 R. A. GESELLSCHAP 2,520,410

ELECTRICAL SWITCH 7 Filed July 9, 1948 s Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

INVENTOR ROBERT A. GESELLSCHAP ATTORNEY Dec. 2, 1952 R. A. GESELLSCHAP 2,620,410

ELECTRICAL swrrca Filed July 9, 1948 s Sheets-Sheet s s 50\ I a um:

INVENTR ROBERT A. GESELLSCHAP ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 2, 1952 ELECTRICAL SWITCH Robert A. Gesellschap, l iirkwood, Mo., assignor to James R. Kearney'Corporation, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application July 9, 1948, Serial No. 37,810

3 Claims. 200-48) This invention relates generally to electrical switches, and more specifically to an electrical switch which is adapted particularly for use as a part of a gang switch structure, the predominant object of the invention being to provide a switch of this type which, because of its improved construction and arrangement, is capable of performing its intended function in an improved and highly efiicient manner.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved switch of this invention with parts of certain insulators of the switch broken away.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of a portion of the improved switch.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on a reduced scale which is taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of the improved switch.

Fig. 6 is a plan View of the portion of the switch which is illustrated by Fig. 5.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary elevational view of the forward portion of the improved switch.

Fig. 8 is a plan View of the forward portion of the switch which is illustrated by Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical section taken on line 99 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged vertical section taken on line Iii-I0 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged vertical section taken on line II-lI of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, wherein is shown for the purpose of illustration, merely, one embodiment of the invention, A designates the improved switch generally in Fig. 1. The switch A includes a base member I which may be channel shaped in cross section, and this base member is mounted on suitable spaced supports 2, which in Fig. 1 are illustrated as I beams. At the left-hand or rear end of the switch A, as said switch is illustrated in Fig. 1, an insulator 3 is supported by said base member I and extends upwardly therefrom, a suitable mounting 4 being provided for said insulator 3 which is secured at its bottom to the base member and has the insulator 3 secured thereto at the top of said mounting. The insulator 3 has secured thereto at its top face, by fastening devices 5, a terminal '6, an incoming electrical conductor I being electrically connected to said terminal 6 by a clamping head 8 which is drawn toward the terminal by bolts 9 so as 'to clamp an end portion of the incoming conductor between the terminal and the clamping head (Fig. 9).

At the right-hand or forward end of the switch, as said switch is illustrated in Fig. 1, an insulator III is supported by the base member I ,and extends upwardly therefrom, there being a suitable mounting II for said insulator Iil which is secured to the base member at its bottom and has the insulator II] fixed thereto at its top. The insulator l0 has fixed thereto at its top face a terminal I2, fastening devices I3 being employed "for securing said terminal to said insulator. The terminal I2 is provided with an upwardly extended portion I4, and its opposite end portion projects forwardly of the insulator In, as shown in Fig. 1, and has an outgoing electrical conductor I5 secured thereto by means of a clamping head I6 resembling the clamping head 8 previously described herein. The upstanding portion I4 of the terminal I2 has formed therein an opening H which is open at the top edge of said upstanding terminal portion and extends downwardly thereof, said opening being flared with its greatest width at the top edge of the upstanding terminal portion I4.

Mounted at the forward end of the switch A is an element l8 which is formed of inherently resilient material. The element l8 includes a horizontally extended portion I8 at its lower end whose lower face contacts with a top face portion of the terminal I2, said element portion I8 being secured to said terminal I2 and to the insulator II) by one of the fastening elements I3 which serve to secure said terminal I2 to said insulator III, as previously stated herein. From the forward end of the horizontal portion I8 of the element l8 a lower portion I8a extends upwardly and inclines forwardly to a slight degree to the approximate longitudinal center of the upstanding portion of the element, and from this point an upper element portion I81) extends upwardly and inclines rearwardly to a slight.

degree. At its top, the element I8 is provided with an upwardly and forwardly inclined portion I80.

At its forwardportion the terminal 5 has fixed to its upper face a pair of bars I9 which are spaced apart transversely of said terminal, said bars being secured to said terminal by fastening devices 20, and portions 6' of the terminal 6 being bent upwardly into engagement with the forward faces of said bars (Fig. '5). The terminal 6 has an opening 2 I formed therethrough through which an extension 22 is projected, this extension 22 being a part of a head 23 which is secured by fastening devices 24 to the upper end of an insulator 25. The insulator 25 is supported for axial rotation by a bearing 26 which is disposed vertically in an opening 26' formed in the base i (Fig. 2), said bearing includin a flange portion 2'! which is secured by fastening devices 28 to the base i.

ecured to the insulator 25 at the lower face thereof is an operating arm 29, a portion 29 of this operating arm being interposed between the lower face of the insulator 25 and the flanged upper portion so of a member ac, as is shown to good advantage in Fig. 2, and said member and said operating arm being secured to the insulator 25 by suitable fastening elements 3!. The member includes upper and lower cylindrical portions 32 and which are joined by an arcuate web said web preferably being formed integral with said cylindrical portions 32 and 33. The member 3% is supported by the bearing 2% through the instrumentality of a vertically disposed shaft 35, said shaft being extended through the bearing 26, through the lower portion of the upper cylindrical portion of the member 38, and through the lower cylindrical portion 33 of said member said shaft bein provided at its opposite ends with cotter pins 35. Interposed between the upper and lower faces of the bearing 28 adjacent of the member 33 are sets of washers Bl which serve as spacers, and secured to the flange portion 2's of the bearing 26 by a pair of the fastening elements 23 is a bar 38 whose forward end face serves as an abutment element for the member 35.

From the foregoing it is obvious that when the outer end of the operating arm 2% is subjected to rotary movement, the insulator 25 and the member Bil will be subject to like rotary movement, said member rotating about the axis of the shaft Aiso, when the member 35} starts its rotary movement an end portion of the arcuate web 3-; of said member contacts with the forward end face of the bar Sit so that the proper starting position of the member 38 is established.

The improved switch A includes a switch blade 3% comprised of a pair of spaced, elongated elements Eta and 39b. The elements Sea and 3527 are pivotally attached at their near ends to the spaced bars it? by a pivot rod to, said pivot rod being retained in place by cotter pins 49. At the forward of the switch blade 3% the elongated elements 35c and 39?) support a lever structure e22, said lever structure comprising a pair of spaced members 33, which are provided at their forward ends with outwardly extended hub portion it. lever structure is pivotally attached to the elements 353a and 39?: by a pivot rod 35 which extends through openings formed through the elements 33a and 3% and the openings through the hub portions 3 of the spaced members The members d3 are provided with outwardly extended flanges 25 at the lower faces of which a transverse bar ii is secured by fastening elements 58, the opposite, outer end'portions of said bar d? extending beneath and contacting with the elements and 32b of the switch blade at.

The extension 22 of the head 23 which is secured to the insulator 25 has formed thereon, or fixed thereto, an eccentric it (Figs. and 6) which rotates with head insulator when same are subjected to rotary movement in the operation of the switch A. The eccentric lit is disposed within an eccentric housing 551 which is open at its bottom and at its sides; in other words, the eccentric housing comprises an inverted U-shaped structure having a top wall and forward and rear walls. Also, the eccentric housing is provided with a pair of spaced upstanding flanges 5! which extend longitudinally of said housing and terminate at the forward end of the housing in spaced ears bid and at the rear end of the housing in spaced ears Eilb. Additionally, eccentric housing is provided with wear plates 52 which are secured to the inner faces of the forward and rear walls of said eccentric housing and with which the peripheral face of the eccentric 49 contacts. The spaced ears 5!?) have pivotally connected therebetween, by means of a pivot pin 53, the upper end of a link 56, the opposite end of said link being pivotally connected by a pivot element 54 to and between the bars 59 which are fixed to the terminal 6 (Figs. 5 and 6).

Pivotally supported by the pivot rod Mi is a lever 55 which is bifurcated at its forward end, as is shown in Fig. 6, said lever 55 being shaped as is shown to good advantage in Fig. 5. The lever 55 is provided with a portion 56 which is interposed between the ears 55a of the eccentric housing as, there being provided a pivot pin 57 which pivotally attaches said lever portion 55 to said spaced ears Sla of the eccentric housing 50. Pivotally attached to the outer end of the lever 55 by means of a pivot pin 58' is a coupling member 53, said coupling member having a screwthreaded socket which receives the rear screwthreaded end portion of a rod 59. The rod 59 extends forwardly of the switch and inclines downwardly slightly, and said rod at its forward end has fixed thereto a latching member 69, the upper portions 43 of the spaced members 43 of the lever structure 42 being disposed outwardly of the opposite sides of said latching member Bi) and being pivotally attached thereto by a pivot pin iii. The element It has secured thereto an abutment element E2 which is provided with a shoulder 52a at its lower end and an inclined face 6217 at its upper end (Fig. 7'), the forward portion of the latching member 66 being adapted to engage the shoulder 62a of the abutmentelement 62 to retain the forward portion of the blade of the switch A in its normal, lowered position.

The rod 59 is supported for sliding movement by a bracket 63, which is shaped as is shown to good advantage in Fig. 10, said bracket being secured by set screws 64 to the spaced, elongated elements 39a and 39b and having an opening 65 through which the rod 59 slidingly extends. Also, the spaced, elongated elements 39a and 39?) are connected together by a pair of tie elements 66 which are shaped as is shown in Fig. 11 and are provided with arcuate end portions 68 that partially embrace said spaced, elongated elements. The flanges d6 of the spaced members 53 or the lever structure d2 have secured thereto the opposite ends of aspi ing element 81, there being eyes 58 formed at the opposite ends of said spring element through which shank portions of the fastening elements 58 extend. The spring element includes opposed portions b9 which extend upwardly from the eyes 63 and merge into coiled portions Eli, and an elongated, rearwardly extended loop portion H which emerges from said coiled portions 70 and is inclined upwardly to a slight degree, as is shown to good advantage in Fig. '7, the bridge portion '12 of said loop portion being in contact with the upper portion of the rod 59. The spring element 61 is under such tension that it tends to maintain the rear part of the lever structure 42 in its normal elevated position, as said lever structure is illustrated in Fig. 7.

When, in the use of the improved switch disclosed herein, the switch is in the closed-switch position as is shown in Fig. 1, and it is desired to move the switch blade of said switch to the open-switch position, the operating arm 29 is moved in an arc of a circle. Such movement of the operating arm subjects the insulator 25 and the head 23 to rotary movement with the result that the eccentric 49 will move the eccentric housing 50 rearwardly. The initial portion of the rearward movement of the eccentric housing draws the rod 59 rearwardly a sufiicient distance to free the forward portion of the latching member 60 from the shoulder 62a of the abutment element 62, and continued rearward movement of the eccentric housing 50 will, because of its attachment to the lever 55, swing the switch blade 39 comprised of the spaced, elongated elements 39a and 39b, upwardly and rearwardly to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5. When the rod 59 is initially moved rearwardly, as described above, the rear part of the lever structure 42 is moved downwardly in opposition to the force exerted by the spring element 61, the spaced members 43 of lever structure 42 contacting with the wall at the base of the opening I! of the upstanding portion l4 of the terminal i2. This creates a wedging action which efiectively separates the elongated elements 39a and 391). from the upstanding portion I4 of the terminal l2 even under icing conditions. When the force which tends to move the rod 59 rearwardly is discontinued the spring element 61 will restore the rod 59 to its normal position relative to the spaced, elongated elements 39a and 3919.

When the switch blade 39 is in the open-switch position, as is illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 5, and it is desired to move it to the closed-switch position, the operation described above is reversed; that is to say, the operating arm 29 is moved in a direction to cause the eccentric 49 to move the eccentric housing 50 forwardly, whereby the switch blade 39 is moved forwardly and downwardly, the forward portion of the latching member 69 engaging the inclined face 62b of the abutment 62 and engage the lower shoulder 62a thereof. Because of the latching engagement between the latching member 60 of the rod 59 and the abutment element 62 the forward portion of the switch blade 39 of the switch is prevented from bouncing or rebounding in the event said switch blade is closed in a forcible manner.

The lever structure 42 is provided with a downwardly projected extension 13 which moves forwardly into contact with the rear face of the element I8 when said lever structure is moved about the pivot rod upon opening operation of the switch. Thus, any are which is produced as a result of the opening of the switch will be drawn between the extension 13 and the upper portion of the element l8 as said extension 13 moves away from said upper portion of said element, the upper portion of the element I8 serving as an arcing horn. It is to be noted that the elongated elements 390. and 39b of the switch blade 39 contact closely with opposed outer edges of the upstanding portion M of the terminal l2, as is shown at 14 in Fig. 8, whereby good electrical contact between said parts is obtained when the switch is in the closedswitch position. Also, the elongated elements 39a and 39b of the switch blade 39 are provided with contacts 15 (Fig; 6) which closely engage outer edges of the upturned portions 6' of the terminal 6 so as to provide good electrical contact at these points when the switch is in the closed-switch position. In this connection. it is pointed out that the tie elements 66, because of their shape as illustrated in Fig. 11, tend to draw the elongated elements 39a and 39b toward each other so as to cause said elongated elements to make good contact with the outer edges of the upstanding portion [4 of the terminal l2 and with the upturned portions 6 of the terminal 6.

I claim: 7

1. An electrical switch comprising a switch blade, means for pivotally supporting said switch blade for movement, an incoming terminal for conducting electrical energy to said switch blade, an outgoing terminal into and out of contact with which said switch blade is movable, means for subjecting said switch blade to movement, an element associated with said outgoing terminal which serves as an arcing horn, and means for latching said switch blade to said element when the switch blade is in the closed-switch position, the last-mentioned means comprising an abutment mounted on said element, a latching member movable with said switch blade and with respect thereto and adapted for engagement with and disengagement from said element, a rod connected to said latching member and movable with and with respect to said switch blade by said means for moving said switch blade, said rod serving to move said latching member to its unlatched position with respect to said abutment of said element, a lever structure pivoted to said switch blade and pivoted to said latching member and adapted to contact with said outgoing terminal for breaking contact between said switch blade and said outgoing terminal on opening movement of said switch blade, and spring means connected to said lever structure and engaging said rod for urging said lever structure toward its normal position relative to said switch blade.

2. An electrical switch comprising a switch blade, means, for pivotally supporting said switch blade for movement, an incoming terminal for conducting electrical energy to said switch blade, an outgoing terminal into and out of contact with which said switch blade is movable, means for subjecting said switch blade to movement, an element associated with said outgoing terminal which serves as an arcing horn, and means for latching said switch blade to said element when the switch blade is in the closedswitch position, the last-mentioned means comprising an abutment mounted on said element, a latching member movable with said switch blade and with respect thereto and adapted for engagement with and disengagement from said element, a rod connected to said latching member and movable with and with respect to said switch blade by said means for moving said switch blade, said rod serving to move said latching member to its unlatched position with respect to said abutment of said element, a lever structure pivoted to said switch blade and pivoted to said latching member and adapted to contact with said outgoing terminal for breaking contact between said switch blade and said outgoing terminal on opening movement of said switch blade, spring means connected to said lever structure and engaging said rod for urging said lever structure toward its normal position relative to said switch blade, and an extension on said lever structure which is adapted to contact with said element during switch-opening movement of said switch blade.

3. An electrical switch comprising a switch blade, means for pivotally supporting said switch blade for movement, an incoming terminal for conducting electrical energy to said switch blade, an outgoing terminal into and out of contact with which saidswitch blade is movable, and means for subjecting said switch blade to movement, the last-mentioned means comprising a rotatable member provided. with an eccentric, an eccentric housing which receives said eccentric therein and is subjected to movement thereby, a pivotally' supported lever to 'which said eccentric housing is pivotally connected, an. elongated element which is pivotally connected to said lever, a lower structure for conmeeting said elongated element to said switch blade for movement with said switch blade and with respect thereto, said lever structure serv- 8 ing on switch-opening operation ofthe switch to break contact between said switch blade and said outgoing terminal by moving against a portion of said outgoing terminal, and spring means connected to said lever structure and engaging said elongated element for urging said lever structure toward its normal position relative to said switch blade.

ROBERT A. GESELLSCHAP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

